Michelle and Robert’s Wedding at Eolia Mansion

Michelle and Robert were married at Eolia Mansion in Waterford CT on May 12, 2018.  The day had heavy rain, but the couple didn’t miss a beat and hosted 100 of their closest friends and family in an intimate ceremony in a tent with grey drapery and lush florals followed by cocktail hour and a seated dinner in the mansion and then back to the tent for dancing.  The couple chose to use grey, blue and green with some pops of black and marble as their dominant colors throughout the day.  The invitations set the color tone and featured custom sketches of a horse- a love of the bride’s and a bicycle- a love of the groom’s, as well as a custom sketch of the venue on the envelope liner.  The horse was drawn on a piece of vellum that overlaid the center piece and vellum was used again as the place cards at the reception.  The groom is an avid bicyclist and has actually competed in the Tour de France multiple times so in addition to the bicycle on the invitation they named their signature drink “Tour de Weiss Blueberry Mojito” and the planner, Ebb and Flow Events, custom made bicycle cocktail stirrers for the drinks.  Guests were welcomed to the wedding weekend with two unique welcome gifts- a welcome box for the men featuring a candle, whisky infused caramels and chocolate, while the girls were welcomed with linen bags full of bath salts, elderflower liquor, a deck of playing cards and a book on the stars- a passion of both the bride and groom.  Both bags came with a custom made do not disturb sign for guests to use after dancing the night away.

The wedding was planned by Jenna of Ebb and Flow Events who is also a dear friend of the bride, and Jenna’s daughter Camilla served as the flower girl.  The bridesmaids were comprised of the bride’s two sisters as well as one of her son’s girlfriends and Jenna’s sister, who all wore different tones of blue dresses.  The groomsmen were comprised of the groom’s best friend, Jenna’s father and the bride’s two sons, Joey and John.  The groomsmen all wore suits of their own choosing in shades of grey and Joey and John each wore unique feathered bowties which tied in the blue of the bridesmaids gowns.  The bride fell in love with her polka dotted long sleeved gown and felt it reminded her of her mother and Stevie Nicks and had a blast twirling in it all day and playing with the sleeves.  She paired her dress with black velvet heels with black crystals on the back, which matched perfectly with the groom’s black velvet loafers with a strip of crystals on the back.  One of the highlight moments of the day was when they were joined by their five month old puppy for some portraits right after the first look under a pergola on the garden’s grounds.  Their puppy sported a Tiffany & Co leash purchased just for the day and the sapphire blue dog tag fit right in with their colors, perfectly matching her sapphire earrings! Sarah Saunders created a lush organic bouquet in white and green for the bride and blues and greens for bridesmaids, each unique to fit with their unique gown and look.

Inside the mansion guests were greeted with a beautiful installation of greenery with pops of blue on the grand staircase and were invited for a glass of champagne and to leave the couple “bucket list” notes before the ceremony began.  The fireplaces throughout the mansion were decked out in wild floral arrangements in tones of white, green and blue and hand calligraphed marble tiles were laid on a table with silk runners and loose florals to echo the wild feeling of the flowers throughout the day.  The couple wanted the ceremony to feel close and intimate so they elected for a ceremony in the round with their guests all standing around them in a circle and they set up chairs on each side of them with florals all around the back of the chairs for their wedding party to sit in. Joey and John had the honor of walking their mom down the aisle and another dear friend of the family, the planner’s mother, officiated the ceremony.  After the emotional I Do’s where they read vows they wrote themselves, they recessed out of the tent and the rain cleared for the first time that day giving the bride and groom the opportunity to walk down to the water for a moment alone and for the ocean-side portraits the bride had dreamed of.  The couple grabbed their signature drink and made the long walk through the muddy and wet grass down to the water, but they couldn’t have cared less and had so much fun enjoying the view.  Luckily the bride had a shorter dress to change into and had plans to cut the bottom of her dress off to make it cocktail length so she didn’t mind getting it muddy!

Guests enjoyed cocktail hour inside the mansion and the bride slipped into her feathered short dress and took a quick spin around the gardens with her groom as the rain held off.  Guests made their way into the dining rooms and as the bride and groom walked back inside the mansion they all clapped and cheered watching them from the window.  Dinner was served on long banquet tables in the beautiful white dining room that tied in all the colors and textures of the day.  The grey table cloths were topped with marble chargers and textured white napkins with vellum place cards on top of each plate and marble and gold table numbers echoed the colors and texture of the escort cards.  The fireplace in the dining room was set with more wild florals and the tables were set with greenery and pops of blue flowers, which was also echoed in the blue wine goblets and blue and gold flat ware.

After the dinner guests joined the couple for a cake cutting, but the bride and groom aren’t big fans of cake so they chose to have a small ceremonial cake cutting followed by a large dessert bar of gelato sundaes, three different kinds of chocolate dipped fruit and a flambé bar creating on demand bananas foster.  Country singer April Kry, who the bride had seen perform at her planner Jenna’s wedding and fell in love with her voice, was flown in from Nashville with her guitarist in lieu of a traditional wedding band and they kept the guests dancing all night long.  As featured on Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine.

Location, Eolia Mansion

Event planning and design, Ebb and Flow Events

Catering, Cake, and Desserts, Coastal Gourmet

Flowers, Sarah Saunders Studio

Invitation Suite, The Wells Makery

Escort Cards, Hanwriting

Calligraphy, Jordan Cotton

Music, Brooklyn Duo (ceremony and cocktail hour); April Kry(reception)

Rentals, Borrowed Blu; Gather and Lounge; La Tavola Fine Linen Rental; Patina Rentals

Bride’s Gown, Rime Arodaky

Bride’s accessories, Stuart Weitzman clutch; Rene Caovillashoes

Hair and Makeup: Cohl Katz

Bridesmaids’ dresses, Bhldn

Groomsmen’s suits: The Black Tux

Groom’s Shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo

Groomsmen’s Bowties, Brackish

Bar Sign, Bespoke Designs

Bouquet Ribbon, Frou Frou Chic

Tent Draping, Ryan Designs